making up for lost time
by ladyoferudite
Summary: It isn't who you grow up with which is important; it's who you grow old with. This is the story of the Tris and Tobias over the ten most important years of their life, on the same day each year.
1. Chapter 1

Four kept the book because after all these years, it was still something he'd list as his most treasured item.

It didn't matter that the pages were worn with age and the cover was tattered, he would still pull it out on this same day every year, flicking through it reminiscing over it all. He would smile, he would cry, he would laugh, he would sigh as everything flooded back to him. It would hit him like a wave of warm air, everything flashing in his head as if it happened yesterday and not decades ago. This book, this small book full of sweet nothings transported him back to a time. He would remember sights, smells, tastes and conversations just by scanning his eyes over the dilapidated pages. It was both his favourite past time and the single cause for his heartache.

Then, at the end of the day, he would carefully place it back into its box before sliding it under the wardrobe. Gone, but not forgotten, for another year.

It was the small things that mattered to Four now. It was the small things he remembered.

And it all started thirty years ago when he met Beatrice Prior for the first time.

**Chapter one: December 19****th**** 2003**

_20 years old_

Beatrice Prior, or most commonly known to her friends as Tris, had heard it all before.

The rumours were that once in your lifetime you would meet someone and it would feel like time itself stood completely still. It would take merely a few hours talking to them and yet it would feel like you had known them for an eternity. Some called it soul mates. Although Tris considered this to be true, but since she had never experienced it, she could never fully believe the beauty of true love.

That was until she met Four.

She'd notice him around university plenty of times with his black clothes, leather jacket and the tattoo on his back. His circle of friends sometimes overlapped with her group of friends, but they'd never actually talked. Tris always found herself admiring him from afar; his dark brown hair that framed his face, his scar on his chin and his eyes- they were so dark that they were almost black, yet they had a patch of light blue near his iris. They held a natural spark of both intimidation and laughter, as if he was unsure how to react to everything he saw.

They were both in their final year of university now, and since they were graduating in the summer and destined to part their spate ways, it seemed a sad revelation to Tris that they hadn't found each other sooner. In fact, they probably wouldn't have begun talking to each other if it wasn't for Four 'accidently' spilling beer all over her in the local pub for the universities annual Christmas party. Just as Tris was staring into her lonely drink (Christina had abandoned her thirty minutes ago for a handsome stranger), Four had bumped into her. Literally.

Ruining her clothes definitely sparked the conversation. He ordered her a drink to make up for the accident, and with the alcohol flowing, the conversation flowed as well. She found out what he was studying Computer Science and that he came from a wealthy family, but he hated having that aspect in his background. Tris could tell from his hunched shoulders and him constantly fidgeting with his hands that he was nervous speaking to her. It was as if we was worried about saying the wrong thing, yet he had nothing to fear as their smiles grew bright, the laughs more genuine as the conversation stretch into the early hours of Friday morning.

Now it was two o'clock on a cold December morning and Four and Tris were lying side by side on the grass hill beside the university, watching the night sky. It had been his idea- she accepted his offer to walk her home, but during their walk they were side-tracked. A little tipsy, they thought the most marvellous idea in the world was to trek up the hill and observe the sky from their small spot on one planet that lies in one corner of the universe.

It did not feel like she had only met him a few hours prior. For she knew the ins and outs of this man, his history, his family and the thing that got him out of bed every morning. For some reason this made her sad.

"Four who?" She whispered as her eyes focused on the brightest star in the sky.

He was confused. "What?"

"I've just realised- I don't even know your name."

"Oh." He simply sad, before reaching out to shake her hand. "Tobias Eaton, at your service. It's the weirdest name ever, which is why I prefer to use the name Four."

She laughed and they held onto each other's hands despite the handshake being forgotten about. He held tightly onto her hand as if he was worried that if he let go, she would disappear. "Another thing," she said. "Why do people call you Four?"

"Because of these bad boys," he reaches into his pocket with his free hand, before pulling something out and putting them on his face. They were a pair of thick framed, brown glasses. "My friends call me four eyes. It just kind of stuck, I guess."

He puts the glasses away as Tris' laughter echoes around them, when it dies down, she turns to him. "So, what's your plan for next year then? After graduation."

"I want to go travelling." He said.

"Travelling?"

"Yeah. All around the world. I want to get out Chicago for a bit. So I thought, I might as well move around the world," he flipped over onto his side. "What about you? What are you going to do?"

"I don't know," she sighed. "I don't really have a career plan yet. I don't even know what I'm going to have for dinner tomorrow, let alone know how I want to spend the rest of my life." His thumb stoked her hand to sooth her slightly.

"Why don't you come travelling with me?"

"I'd love to, but it's far too expensive. I could never afford it."

"That's a shame. I'm going on my own; it would have been nice having someone there." He looked away from her. "If only I had known you sooner."

"Well then," she said, sitting up and resting herself on her elbows to get a better look at him. Their faces were purely inches apart and they could feel each other's breath against their skin. "Get to know me now. Make up for lost time."

He raised his eyebrow slightly, the words were on the tip of time and yet he was finding difficulty in speaking them to form a sentence. He moved his eyes and gazed at her. She waited patiently for his reply, a little amused by his hesitance.

"Tomorrow," he began, still holding her hand. "Spend the whole day with me tomorrow."

"What will we do?" She asked as she pulled herself into a sitting position, smiling at him.

Four would have laughed at himself if he could. There he was, the guy who was supposed to be fearless, and right now, as he sat there with Tris; he was terrified. If someone had told him yesterday or this morning for that matter that he would be sitting here with Tris Prior, he would have never believed them. Yet here they were. And they had gone past just being with each other, he had asked her out.

"Anything," he replied. "Anything and everything. Anywhere and everywhere. For the whole day, the world is ours. We can go anywhere. I'll go anywhere as long as I'm with you."

Tris leaned into him, her eyes feeling heavy with sleep, as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders loosely. She rested her head on him as Four held her close, silently excited for tomorrow and the rest of his life with her. He held her closer, making sure she was warm, as he looked down at her and then back up at the sky.

"We'll make up for lost time," he promised her in a whisper.

She nodded against his warmth, before repeating him. "We'll make up for lost time."

And they held each other until the sun came up.


	2. Chapter 2

**okay, so i have a few things to clear up, so please take the time to read this note as it is vital.**

**firstly, this is loosely based on 'One Day' but Nicholas Sparks, there is no denying that. However some things are completely different and some things are slightly similar.**

**secondly, both skinny love AND beneath the surface have somehow been deleted from here. I do not know how or why, but as I never saved them when I wrote it all out, I cannot re-post either of those stories (sorry about that guys).**

**and finally, as i really enjoyed writing skinny love, i will re-write it. But it will be somewhat different, that includes the ending (which i don't know why i went in that direction because it was awful).**

**I'll re-write skinny love after i finish this story so keep your eyes out for that.**

**anyway, enjoy reading chapter two!**

**Chapter two: December 19****th**** 2004**

_21 years old_

Tris was waiting in the airport with a large poster in her hand which read:

"2+2"

Incredibly cheesy as it may be, she could not wait to see the smile that it brought to her best friend's face. Her best friend who she had not seen for three months.

Oh god, she missed him. She missed him more than anything. Tris couldn't exactly pinpoint the exact moment when she started to rely on Four, but it never ceased to amaze her. They had met merely around a year ago and yet they were such a big part of each other's life. A day didn't go by for her that she didn't at least see him once.

For the past three months or so, Four had been travelling around the world. Occasionally popping back home every few weeks to catch up with friends and family. After spending the whole summer together it was hard for Tris to only see him one day every few weeks, and even then, they were usually interrupted by another excited friend wanting a piece of Four's attention. So it was three months since they'd had a proper chat and Tris was more than ready to see him.

While he was away, he had been sending her postcards and pictures from his travels and in return, she sent him long letters back, updating him on what was going on in her life- from everything to personal to general things. In contrast to Four sending her photos of Beijing at night or the Caribbean coast simmering on the hot horizon, Tris's part-time job and petty problems seemed so small and insignificant. He was living the dream while she was barely dreaming at all.

He was one of the last to leave the plan. There he was- trailing his large suitcase and showcasing slight stubble on his face and his hair incredibly messy. His eyes roamed over the crowds waiting for their loved ones until they finally landed on Tris.

At the same time, they both bent over laughing, before she ran up to him, dropping her stupid sign. He disregarded his luggage as she threw herself at him. His strong arms wrapped around her waist and heaved her into the air, spinning her around. Tris shrieked and laughed, pressing soft kisses all over his face, yet never touching his lips.

When he eventually let go, Tris took his hand and faced him. They were beaming at one another, neither knowing quite what to say first.

"I love the stubble." Tris finally said, running her hand along his chin.

He looked taken aback for a few seconds; she pulled her hand away before he scratched his growing beard. "I would say I did it on purpose, but I lost my razor." He confessed.

She laughed. "You look good! Really good. I've never seen you so tanned."

"And what about you! You look amazing- not like you don't always look amazing. Because you do. But you look amazing." Feeling his face turn hot, he coughed and picked up his suitcase before swiftly changing the conversation. "What do you want to do today?"

"Well, I thought you'd want to see your family this morning. So tonight, we could-"

"Tris," he interrupted. He pulled on her hand and grimaced. "I told everyone I was arriving tomorrow."

Frowning, she echoed him. "Tomorrow?"

"Yeah I-" he glanced to the floor, a little embarrassed, "haven't seen you in ages. I thought if I told everyone I was coming home a day later, we could have the whole day to ourselves. You know, have a well-deserved catch him. I am still, after all, making up for lost time."

Tris felt truly touched. With a little pang of her heart, she stood up on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek with her hand holding his prickly face. "I've missed you," she whispered.

"I've missed you too, Beatrice Prior." He draped his arms around her shoulder to keep her close. "Now, what do you say we get some lunch somewhere nice? I'm starving."

Tris ordered a glass of water, insisting she didn't want anything else. Four knew her too well and ordered her a toasted panini while he had a black coffee and a large fry up. Money was tight for Tris, neither of them wanted to admit it. She hated that Four bought her little things, as if he was trying to make up for their financial differences, but she also knew there was nothing she could do to stop him. So accepted the toasted chicken panini with a small word of thanks and a sideways glare, to which he merely grinned about.

Four breathed out a sigh of relief after his first bite of scrambled egg, the happiness clear on his face. Tris rolled her eyes.

"You're still working in the restaurant, I take it?" He asked.

Tris tensed. "Why? Since I can't afford to buy overpriced cups of coffee with ridiculous complex names?"

He met her gaze, shaking his head. "No need to get defensive, Tris."

"I know what's coming next, Four. You're going to tell me-"

"That you're too good for working as a waitress in a shitty little restaurant. And it's the truth. Someone needs to encourage you to do better. I know that giving old sleazy men their food is not what makes you happy."

"I'm _trying_, Tobias." She covered her face with her hands. He hated it when she used his real name and she knew that. However, the irritation was growing in her stomach every time her father or her best friend brought up this conversation. "For the fifteenth time, I just can't afford to further my medical degree."

He raised his eyebrows and finished the scrambled egg. While Tris grimaced in distaste, Four pointed his fork at her, saying, "You can always come travelling with me. After Christmas."

"No," Tris whispered. "I still can't afford it."

"I'll pay then." He replied starting on his bacon.

"No, don't you dare. You help me out enough as it is," she said, motioning to the panini. "Anymore and it's just scandalous."

As Tris took a large bite from her food, Four smiled contently at her, very nearly smug. "Tell me how you've been. I want to hear everything. Every little thing you've been doing since I've been away."

"I'd rather hear about your adventures," she admitted, wrapping her hands around her cup.

"I haven't spoken to you properly in months; I just want to hear your voice."

He was looking down at his plate again, which signalled to Tris he was embarrassed by his own honesty. Feeling that she now had the upper hand, she leaned forward slightly so that her elbows crossed the space between them. "Okay, so… As you know, I'm still working at the restaurant. I don't know what I'm going to do with the rest of my life, but at least working there gives me a focus and some well-needed income."

"It prevents you from moving forward and doing what you should be doing- being excellent in everything," Four translated, matter-of-factly.

Tris narrowed her eyes. "Is the purpose of this so you can constantly correct me or do you genuinely want to hear my voice?"

"Sorry. Continue."

Tris mused over the next part; she wasn't sure whether or not to tell him. She wanted to tell everything, but there were two things in particular she didn't really want him knowing. One for judgment and the other… Well, she would rather get judgement over with first.

"Tori, my manager, well, she's leaving."

"Oh?"

"And she wants me to take over."

Four nearly choked on his bacon. "She what?!" There it was. "But you've only been there a few months.

Sighing, Tris explained, "She says I have potential. That No one else at the restaurant really has the qual-"

He interrupted her. "Tris, if you don't get out now, you're never going to get out. If you accept this position you'll never end up leaving. It will suck you in."

"And what about you, Four? You can't go travelling forever. One day you're going have to settle, like it or not. And then you'll realise how hard it is," Tris argues, feeling a little sad that her best friend in the entire world couldn't support her in this. No, she didn't want to be the manager of the stupid restaurant. But she also didn't know what else she would do- she could barely afford to live on the money she was earning, never mind find the time to job hunt for a proper career. This was a good opportunity, and as Tris didn't have a lot of good options at the moment, this was the best chance she had.

And yet deep down, she knew Four was right. She wouldn't be able to get out of the restaurant if she stayed for much longer. For all she knew, Tori had been in her position- twenty one and fresh out of university, looking for a part time job. What age was she now? Was she finally moving on for that reason?

Four, realising he had probably stepped over the line, dropped his fork and stroked Tris' arm over the table. "I didn't mean to criticise, I just worry about you," he explained quietly. "You're right; of course I can't run away from settling down forever. They tell you once you go to university and get a good degree that you'll be sorted for like. The world will be your oyster. It's almost laughable how far away from the truth that is. It's cruel to give so many people all that false hope."

Tris' frown softened, she leaned into his touch. "Are we going to join another socialist revolution movement like we did last year?" She joked.

He gave a loud laugh at the memory. Oh, good times. We should definitely do that again." Lifting his fork, Four stared at his baked beans, carefully scooping them up with his knife. There was a question he wanted to ask Tris more than anything- something that had been in the back of his mind ever since Zeke had confided in him about it. _Go for it_, he told himself, _now or never. Even if it's not what you want to hear, it's better than not knowing at all_.

In a tone a pitch too high, he asked, "anything else you want to tell me about?"

Tris stiffened a little. "Nothing majorly important that I can think of."

Four kept his gaze down. "I hear from- well, a friend, that you've been seeing Robert."

Her eyes widened and she almost dropped her panini. She _really_ hadn't expected him to know about that. She could feel her cheeks turn to pink and her voice shake. How was she going to approach this? She didn't want to put her foot in her mouth. This was going to be difficult.

"Oh, um, sort of. A bit," she said fatly.

"A bit?" _Damn, why was his voice sounding too odd?_

Yeah, well, you know. It's not serious," she added quickly. Thinking she said it _too_ quickly. "Not yet, anyway."

"Not yet, I see." Four coughed and swallowed his forkful of beans whole. Tris watched him, her cheek twitching. She couldn't really read how he was taking this bit of news- if he cared or he was just curious. But it bothered her.

Tris and Four nearly had something. Together. A year ago. They were the best of friends, yes, and yet both of them knew that they could be so much more. The potential was there in every way. Neither of them had seized it yet. It always hung in the air whenever they were together, like a fact written in a history book, just waiting to be confirmed. When Four was away travelling, he felt so far away. She knew it was a strong possibility that he might not be the same person when he came back, or he could meet someone abroad and lose him forever. Her fears felt like they were coming true when she had seen him a grand total of two times during the last three months- only long enough for brief small talk before he was rushed somewhere else. He couldn't really blame her for trying to move on when we actively moving on, intending to keep her in mind or not.

Now that we had returned the same as ever, with no extra baggage, Tris slightly regretted being too hasty. Maybe she should have waited longer.

But it was too late now.

"Listen, Four," she began, not really sure how she was going to finish that sentence. "You were away and I-"

"Tris, don't. It's fine." He glanced up at her, hoping his eyes looked sincere. "We're best friends, right? Always there for each other no matter what."

For some reason, his words stung. Tris nodded, "yeah. Right. Best friends."

Suddenly in the rush to get out of this intimate setting, Four dramatically changed the conversation. "What do you say we finish up here and get a few drinks? Celebrate our friendship, eh?"

Tris glanced at her watch. "It's not even three yet!"

His brow raised and he looked at her with disbelief. "Since when has that ever stopped us?"

She couldn't help but laugh. "You are such a band influence."

Four was Tris' favourite drinking buddy.

It wasn't because he was a heavy drinker, or could even handle his drink- it was because the two of them could find anything funny sober, so when they were slightly tipsy, they seemed to believe anything was possible.

She'd found that out the first night they met when they trekked up the hill to philosophise under the night sky.

Nothing had changed since. Four downed a beer, Tris downed a cocktail and then they were off to find their first adventure. They ended up in an eccentric nightclub on the edge of town. The walls were decorated with spray-painted creations, the seats were empty barrels with a cushion on top and empty bottles were tied to the ceiling with little pieces of string, creating an aurora of brown and green.

Four ordered more drinks while Tris found them a seat. They only empty barrelled-chairs were the ones right beside the speakers. When Four returned with the drinks, they had to shout to hear each other over the sound of the loudly playing songs.

"What is it?"

"I don't know!" He said. "I just asked them for their best cider. They gave me these."

Tris peered into the bottom of the pink-orange drink. "It doesn't look like cider!"

Four took a swig of his, before shaking his head and sticking out his tongue. "Guess what- it doesn't taste like cider either!" Just behind them, a new song played through the speakers. He jumped, as if he were electrocuted and pulled on Tris' hand. "Come dance with me."

She laughed and pushed him away. "No one else is dancing!"

"Great- it gives us more room!"

In the end, she didn't have much say in the situation. An already drunk Four dragged her to the middle of the floor and spun her about, jerking and jiving in and out of rhythm. He was so utterly terrible and horrifically embarrassing that Tris fell into an uncontrollable fit of laughs. She was rooted to the spot, hands gripping her stomach as it hurt with each new chuckle, the tears streaming down her face. Four started to dance around her. Tris noticed that when he was drunk, he always paid a lot of attention to her. She was never sure why, but they had both started to realise it.

Everyone was staring at them, and she was pretty sure they were about to be thrown out, when Four toppled to the side and fell onto the floor. Tris, laughing too hard to help him, almost fell on top of him. Beaming, he pushed himself to his feet and led her back to the bar, his breathing heavy from the effort.

"I missed you so much," Tris shouted. "I can't believe you're leaving again soon!"

"I always miss you, Tris. Every minute of every day. You're always here"- he gestured to his forehead, "in my mind. I don't think I'll ever get rid of you."

With tears of compassion in her eyes now, Tris asked for two shots from the bar staff. The man passed her two small cups, pouring in the clear liquid with a flick of his wrist. She handed Four one and kept the other, raising it in the air for a toast.

"You're parents are going to know, you know," she said. "You're going to be hung-over tomorrow and then they'll realise that you lied to them."

He shrugged and lifted his shot to match the height of hers. "I'll apologise like I always do. I didn't mean to leave them- or my other friends- behind today. I just really wanted to see you. Have you all to myself."

Smiling, Tris clinked her small glass against his. "Then a toast to those left behind."

"To those left behind!" Four echoes, downing the shot in one.

And as the alcohol stung Tris' chest, her mind wandered into the unguarded territory of the future she would have with Four. Where would they be this time next year? Would Tris still be working at the restaurant? Or would she pack it in altogether? What about Four, what would he be doing?

But, overall, she didn't want to linger on the future for too long. She wanted to enjoy the now, this precious moment with her best friend, and make memories that wouldn't just last tonight- but a lifetime.


End file.
